As one of gas-liquid separators, there is conventionally known an air dehumidifier using a coolant such as chlorofluorocarbons. In the dehumidifier, high-pressure air is cooled by a coolant to condense water vapor in air for removing the vapor. Such an air dehumidifier has environmental problems due to the use of a coolant, for example, chlorofluorocarbons, and also requires additional devices such as a compressor or condenser for compressing the coolant and a heat exchanger for cooling the high-pressure air. Another problem is that a running cost is relatively high because a power source for operating those devices is necessary.
In another known dehumidifier, moisture in high-pressure air is removed by passing the high-pressure air through a filter provided in a dehumidifier body. This dehumidifier has a problem that if the filter becomes moist during use, moisture that has been put on the filter with the high-pressure air passing through the filter is extruded to the rear surface of the filter, causing the dehumidified high-pressure air to be moistened again. If the filter is saturated with moisture, such a problem is more serious, and the dehumidifying effect is so reduced that the filter has to be cleaned and replaced periodically.
To solve the above-mentioned problems, the inventor proposed a compressed air dehumidifier in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 8-290028. The proposed dehumidifier comprises an air introducing passage and a discharging passage provided respectively to the lower and upper parts of a side surface of a cylindrical body having a hollow chamber therein, a collision surface disposed at a position in front of the introducing passage for collision of air, and a guide part for changing a flow of air that has collided with the collision surface. Further, a conical receiving plate with an opening formed at the center thereof is arranged in the hollow chamber, and a barrier plate having air holes formed therein is provided above the receiving plate.
According to the proposed dehumidifier, compressed air introduced to the hollow chamber through the introducing passage violently collides with the collision surface, whereby moisture contained in the compressed air is turned into water drops. Also, the air is changed in direction substantially at a right angle so that the air is released into the hollow chamber to follow an inner surface of the hollow chamber. The released air is separated into moisture having large specific gravity and air having small specific gravity due to centrifugal force under whirling. The separated moisture is dropped and received by a drain, and only dehumidified air is discharged through the discharging passage. Thus, the proposed dehumidifier can efficiently remove moisture in air, without using the devices conventionally employed, e.g., a compressor or the like to produce power, and an air filter which needs to be replaced.
An object of the present invention is to provide a gas-liquid separator which can achieve a higher separation effect by improving the above-discussed dehumidifier proposed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 8-290028.